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Carbon disulfide leak kills eight at Chinese factory

19 May 2015

A leak at a chemical factory in China’s northern Shanxi province killed at least eight people on May 16, the official Xinhua News Agency reported. Another two people were hospitalised after the carbon disulfide leak at the Shanxi Yangcheng Ruixing Chemical Co.

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The company has about 120 employees and an annual output of about 30 million yuan ($4.8 million), according to the factory’s website. Carbon disulfide, a toxic chemical used in rubber processing and pesticide, is the factory’s main product.

China is seeking to reduce industrial accidents and the government last year ordered a nationwide overhaul of safety practices at factories handling explosive material.

In April, a plant in southeast China that produces toxic paraxylene was hit by its second explosion in 20 months, prompting the government to send in 118 soldiers to undertake a rescue.